Edmund Henderson

Edmund Hendersonn was in charge of convicts in Western Australia from 1850 to 1856 and 1858 to 1863.

1821
born on 19 April, at Muddiford, Hampshire, England, son of Vice-Admiral George Henderson and his wife Frances Elizabeth.

Educated at Bruton, Somerset, and the Royal Military academy, Woolwich, England.

1838
became a 2nd Lieutenant in the British army.

1839-1845
served in Canada, becoming noted as a surveyor and draughtsman, and helping to assess the possibility of building a railway line between Halifax and Quebec.

1845
he was part of a group of people who helped to settle the disputed boundary between Canada and New Brunswick.

1848
married Mary Murphy at Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada.

1849
by this time a Captain in the British Army’s Royal Engineers (formed in 1848), he was appointed by the British Government as Comptroller General of Convicts in Western Australia.

his mission was to build a convict establishment, and develop the convict penal system within the colony.

the officers and men (the sappers and miners) of the Royal Engineers, and the convicts helped him achieve his mission.

1850
on June 1 he arrived on board the sailing ship Scindian with his wife and infant son at Fremantle.

they travelled in the same vessel as the first shipment of 75 convicts from England (convicts were transported from England to Western Australia from 1850 until 1868).

1850-1856
this was his first period as Comptroller General of Convicts in Western Australia.

during this time he was involved with the setting up of the first temporary Convict Establishment near Essex Street in Fremantle and later, the building of much of the new permanent prison (Fremantle Prison) at its present location.

1851
Lt. Henry Wray, who became Henderson’s able 1st officer arrived – he was stationed at Fremantle.

Lt. Edmund Du Cane also arrived during this year – he was stationed at Guildford .

1852
Lt. William Crossman arrived & was stationed at Albany.

between them Wray, Du Cane & Crossman brought a total of 95 sappers & miners to the colony (the men of the 20th Company Royal Engineers) – Lt. Wray commanded the Company.

a grand two-storey house, designed by Henderson (later to be known as ‘The Knowle’) was built slightly to the south of the Convict Establishment. He moved into it with his wife and their young son once it was completed.

(In 1897 it became the basis for Fremantle Hospital and can still be seen in the Hospital grounds).

1855
his wife died suddenly from an illness on 27 December, and was buried in the Skinner Street Cemetery in Fremantle; the headstone from her grave can presently be seen at Headstone Walk in Fremantle Cemetery.

1856
in February he returned to England with his young son.

(during his absence, from 1856-1858, Lt. Henry Wray was Acting Comptroller General of Convicts in Western Australia).

1857
Edmund Henderson married Maria Hindle in England.

1858
he returned to Perth with his new wife and family.

1858-1863
this was his second period as Comptroller General of Convicts in Western Australia – during this time he continued establishing the convict system and the early public works department of the colony.

1859
the building of the Convict Establishment at Fremantle (later Fremantle Prison) was officially completed on 31st December.

in February he was promoted to rank of Major in the Royal Engineers.

in March, at a ceremony, he read the inscription & deposited the document in a cavity in the foundation stone of the new Government house, being built by convict labour.

1862
promoted to rank of Lt Colonel in the Royal Engineers.

1863
on 7 February he left Fremantle on board the York with his wife and family to pursue his career in England; he retired from the British Army during this year.

became Surveyor-General of Prisons in the UK.

1868
he was awarded the C. B. (Companion of the Order of the Bath).

1869
he was made Chief Commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police, and helped establish the criminal investigation department which eventually became Scotland Yard.

1878
he was knighted K. C. B. (Knight Commander of the Bath).

1886
he resigned from his position as Chief Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, over the police failure to control crowds in Trafalgar Square, demonstrating about unemployment.

1896
died 8 December, London.

Acknowledgements:
Australian Dictionary of Biography (1972) Vol. 4 – Douglas Pike (Ed)
The Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians (1988) Vol. 2 – compiled by Rica Erickson
‘The Convict Establishment at Fremantle’ by R. M. Campbell in The Architect, September 1970, pp. 32-38
Fremantle Cemetery Records 1855
Imprisonment in Western Australia: evolution, theory and practice (1978) – J. E. Thomas & Alex Stewart
The Knowle: a conservation study for Fremantle Hospital (1991) – Building Management Authority WA
Ubique: the Royal Australian Engineers 1835-1902 - Major-General R. R. McNicoll, C. B. E., pp103-116 Vol. 1 of The Colonial Engineers Vols 1-4 (1977) – R A E Corps Committe